Hipstre's History
September 11, 2010

It is almost impossible to find any stories for this date as certain search engines are firmly convinced that you couldn’t possily be looking for anything at all except for this one particular story. You may be familiar with this one story that happened 9 years ago. If I search for “September 11, 1989” I get things like: “… a victim of September 11, who in 1989 won the Newberry Medal for…” or “… who aided firefighters on September 11, was honored in 1989 by the Rotary Club for …” I guess I will muddle along. It’s only one day, right? I mean, we are all suffering, this is the form that my grief is taking.


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September 11, 1926 - A tall tower on an island, near a port, of course I am referring to the Aloha Tower in Honolulu. Opened on this day, the Aloha Tower is a lighthouse and welcoming beacon for the port of Honolulu. It is constructed in a style known as “Hawaiian Gothic”, which sounds intriguing. But basically, “Hawaiian Gothic” just means Gothic, but it’s in Hawaii. It is an impressive structure when you consider its weighty look and location directly adjeacent to a deep water port. You can get a feel for the area on Google Map’s street view.

 "Tower" + “September 11” = image

At the time of its construction, Hawaii was not yet a state, but rather a territory of the United States. A consortium of businessmen and merchants overthrew the royal family in 1893. They formed a “Committee of Safety” and requested support from the United States, who happened to have a bunch of marines at the ready. What great good fortune and happenstance! The Queen was placed under house arrest, and Hawaii moved into the era of “democracy”. It is considered to be the first act of U.S. imperialism.


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September 11, 2006 - Poet William Auld dies at the age of 81. Nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1999, 2004, and 2006, Auld is the only author to be so honored for works written in Esperanto.

image William Auld


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September 11, 1950 - Dick Tracy premieres as a very early television show. The show features dead bodies and gun fights and causes the very first uproar over televised violence. Which is odd because only 5 million or so households even had televisions at the time.

Ralph Byrd as Dick Tracy image

The network (ABC) had the proper response to the protests: none. The series was cancelled, but not because of the uproar. The death of Ralph Byrd halted the series.

Meanwhile, Actress Amy Madigan is busy being born along with optical typesetting. A photolinotype machine that can set type without any metal fonts is demonstrated in Chicago on this day. Photolinotypes were revolutionary, replacing equipment that was essentially unchanged since the 1600’s. They themselves remained state-of-the-art until the mid 1960’s, by equipment that has since become obsolete itself. Printing has undergone many revolutions, the vast majority of them in the last 60 years.


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September 11, 1910 - The first commercially successful electric bus line opens in Los Angeles. The electric buses had poles that connected them to overhead electrical lines. They ran the Laurel Canyon route at first, but eventually “bus trolleys” ran all over LA and other cities. They were faster, quieter and more efficient than even modern buses. Take a look at the year again… 1910. This technology is due for a resurgence. GM literally bought up the companies that ran electric public transportation and scrapped them a few decades later. Thanks, Jerks. And now we own GM, and we should scrap them (despite how cool the new Camaros are). By the way, 100 years and a day ago, GM got bailed out for the first time by Chase Manhattan Bank to the tune of 15,000,000 dollars (~300,000,000 in 2010 dollars). So, they’ve been shining exemplars of “free markets” and “open competition” for the duration.


Quickly:

33 - The Jesus Year: Welcome to The Jesus Year, Ludacris… Now we can call you Ludachrist! In any case, thank you for destroying the spelling of the word “ludicrous” for at least the next thirty years.

16 - Old Enough to Drive: Jessica Tandy died on this day in 1994. A baby born at her funeral would now be Old Enough to Drive (Miss Daisy).

65 - Ready to Retire: Leo Kottke (guitarist) is born.


Beyond Human Lifespan:

333 years ago today - The colony of Maine bans the sale of liquor and other “Spiritocksious” beverages.


Yesterday - Tomorrow

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